已到扔掉绿卡时 美国退籍者与日俱增

Time to dump your American passport -- and with it, presumably, your bothersome U.S. tax bill. The reason, international tax lawyers say, may have less to do with offshore tax evasion and more with a new generation of sophisticated -- and legal -- tax planning.

已经到了扔掉美国护照的时候了——这样的的话，令人讨厌的税负也应该会随之而去。国际税务律师指出，人们这样做的原因和海外逃税没有太大的关系，更多的则是因为出现了一种新的税务规划，它成熟而且合法。

This year will enter the record books with the highest number of expatriations ever by U.S. citizens, according to new government figures released Wednesday. Even rock star Tina Turner, a long-time resident of Switzerland who got a full Swiss passport last April, is on track to relinquish her U.S. ties, her spokeswoman said.

美国周三公布的政府数据显示，今年退籍的美国公民数量将达到历史最高点。据蒂娜?特纳的女发言人透露，就连这位摇滚明星也要和美国脱离关系。特纳已经在瑞士居住了很长时间，去年4月份彻底成为瑞士公民。

Some 560 Americans joined the exodus in the third quarter of this year, putting the total number so far this year at 2,369, according to Treasury Department data published by the Federal Register. That is already 33% more than the 1,781 who left in all of 2011, the previous record.

《联邦公报》（Federal Register）公布的美国财政部数据显示，今年第三季度申请退籍的美国人约有560人，这让今年以来的退籍总人数达到了2369人，已经比2011年1781人的前历史纪录高了33%。

While the number of people who gave up their little blue books in the first six months of this year had already edged out the 2011 record by a hair, the recent figures firmly cement the trend.

今年上半年的退籍人数已经略高于2011年的水平，最新数字则充分证明了退籍人数增多的趋势。

Ditching a passport can save an American lots of money in taxes. The reason: The U.S., along with Eritrea, is one of only two countries in the world to tax its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or work. If you reside in, say, Geneva, you still owe the U.S. tax man money on income you earn there.

退籍能大量减轻税负，原因是世界上只有两个国家对公民在全球范围内的收入征税，而不考虑他们在哪里居住和工作，其中一个国家就是美国，另一个是厄立特里亚。举例来说，在日内瓦居住的美国公民仍须按自己在当地的收入向美国税务部门缴纳所得税。

Turner's name -- her birth name is Anna Mae Bullock -- does not appear on the most recent Federal Register list. But Karin Rhomberg, a spokeswoman for Turner, confirmed in an email that the "Private Dancer" and "Simply the Best" singer was on track to relinquish her U.S. passport.

特纳本名安娜?梅?布洛克，她并没有出现在《联邦公报》的最新退籍人员名单上。但特纳的女发言人卡琳?龙伯格在电子邮件中证实，这位发行过《Private Dancer》和《Simply the Best》等专辑的歌手正在办理退籍手续。

Turner acquired a full Swiss passport last April, Rhomberg said. At 73, the singer, who was born in Nutbush, Tenn., lives in Kussnacht, a wealthy enclave near Zurich, with her German-born husband.

龙伯格说，特纳已经在去年4月份完全获得瑞士公民身份。现年73岁的特纳出生在田纳西州纳特布什，现在和她出生在德国的丈夫生活在屈斯纳赫特，一座靠近苏黎世的富裕小镇。

The expatriation trend has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years amid a widening U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion through Swiss and Swiss-style banks. Even the U.S. Embassy in Bern has a "renunciations" tab on its website.

近年来，美国的退籍人数出现了跳跃式增长，原因是通过瑞士和采用瑞士风格经营的银行在海外避税的行为越来越多地受到了美国政府的打击。甚至连美国驻伯尔尼大使馆都在其网站上将“退籍”列为服务项目之一。

Many of those who dump their passports have dual citizenships in other countries, such as Switzerland or Canada, immigration lawyers say. But increasingly, an onerous new U.S. Treasury rule known as Fatca is prompting smaller and mid-sized foreign banks in countries where Americans live and work to dump their American clients.

移民律师指出，许多退籍人士都有另外一个国籍，比如瑞士或加拿大。美国财政部一条名为“Fatca”的新规定正在让越来越多的中小型外国银行将在当地居住和工作的美国人拒之门外。

The rule, which goes into effect next July, requires foreign banks to identify and scrutinize Americans with accounts containing at least $50,000 and either report those accounts to U.S. tax authorities or withhold 30% of dividends, interest, and other payments and send that money to the U.S. Treasury. The law, widely hated by Americans living and working abroad, has made it tough to do simple financial things abroad.

这条规定将于明年7月份生效，它要求外国银行找出并仔细检查金额不低于5万美元（30.675万元人民币）的美国客户账户，然后将这些账户的情况报告给美国税务部门，或者预扣30%的分红、利息等收入并将这笔资金交给美国财政部。在国外居住和工作的美国人都很讨厌这条规定，它让简单的海外资金操作变得困难了起来。

"Local banks don't like dealing with Americans, so it makes it harder for Americans abroad to live normal lives," said Phil Hodgen, an international tax lawyer in Pasadena, Calif. Marylouise Serrato, the executive director of American Citizens Abroad, a Geneva-based lobby for expats, said recently in an email that "individuals with legitimate need of banking services will be locked out" of many foreign countries.

加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳市国际税务律师菲尔?霍金在游说机构American Citizens Abroad担任执行董事。该组织设在日内瓦，代表的是在其他国家和地区居住和工作的美国人。霍金指出：“当地银行不喜欢和美国人打交道，这让身在海外的美国人更难正常地生活。”最近他在电子邮件中表示，许多国家和地区都会把“需要合法银行服务的美国人挡在门外”。

One new trend has emerged: U.S. passport renunciations by dual nationals who build family businesses in other countries that do not have estate taxes.

由此出现了一种新的趋势：在不征收遗产税的国家开展私人生意而且拥有双重国籍的美国人纷纷放弃他们的美国国籍。

"Americans are realizing that their businesses are likely to be torn apart by the U.S. estate tax even if that business never touched the U.S.," Hodgen said, citing as an example a dual citizen who owns a construction company in Saudi Arabia. An owner who wants to pass his company on to his heirs will also sock them with a 40% estate-tax bill, due to his U.S. citizenship.

霍金说：“美国人开始意识到，就算自己的生意从来不和美国沾边，它也有可能毁在美国的遗产税手里。”他举了个例子，一个拥有双重国籍的人在沙特开了一家建筑公司。由于他是美国公民，如果他想把自己的公司留给子女，就得缴纳40%的遗产税，这同样会让他的子女感到吃惊。

"You're going to see tons of people waking up to this," Hodgen said.

霍金预计：“将有为数众多的美国人看到这一点。”